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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Ole Miss emerged from a drizzly, hazy Saturday afternoon at Arkansas unfazed, refueled and reenergized as a playoff contender.
The 63-31 win was an offensive clinic, unlike anything the Rebels had accomplished since September. They tied or broke seven school records against a Razorbacks team that previously defeated top five-ranked Tennessee here a few weeks earlier. With less than 10,000 fans remaining inside Razorback Stadium after the Rebels (7-2, 3-2 SEC) cleaned house, the visitors departed happy but not satisfied.
“Walking off the field, we all understand what’s to come next week,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said.
Next week is the inflection point of Ole Miss’ season: a de facto playoff elimination game for the Rebels, who host SEC juggernaut Georgia. A win would keep the Rebels’ preseason goals of a playoff berth alive. A loss leads to more frustration for the program, which seemingly continues to hit its head on a glass ceiling of 10-win seasons as a non-threat in the postseason picture.
There are signs that narrative is shifting, particularly after this showing at Arkansas, the largest win ever against the Hogs, who had not lost to the Rebels at home since 2008. After weeks of start-and-stop performances, including a shocker at home against Kentucky to open the SEC season, the Rebels returned to form on offense. They never trailed and were always in control, building an insurmountable 35-10 lead before halftime.
Dart broke the school record for passing yards (515) and tied another with six passing touchdowns. Receiver Jordan Watkins shattered the Rebs’ record for receiving yards (254) and touchdowns (five).
Both hit those marks before the end of the third quarter.
“It’s a statement game for us,” Watkins declared. “We were able to come out here and really show the country what we can do. There’s a lot of talk, and just being able to persevere over it and come out on top today, I think we woke a lot of people up.”
Count Georgia among them. The Bulldogs struggled later in the day against rival Florida.
The common thread in Ole Miss’ losses to Kentucky and LSU — and even some wins, including at South Carolina — was the inability to score points in bunches, a seemingly easy feat for Lane Kiffin’s explosive scheme earlier in the season. The Rebels started the season racking up four straight 600-yard games but slowed when the conference schedule arrived. Penalties and turnovers became problematic, too.
Kiffin sensed a turning of the tide in the second half of the 26-14 win against Oklahoma last week, and six days later, he gathered the Rebels at the team’s hotel to hammer home a message.
“Hey, stop making the mistakes so you can show the country you’re one of the best teams in the country, because you really are when you play well,” Kiffin told the team. “We’re two plays … not two miracle plays, we’re two very normal plays away from being undefeated and the (No.) 1, 2 or 3 team in the country.”
The Rebels lead the country with five 600-yard performances and entered the week with the country’s top scoring defense (11 points per game). Ole Miss has amassed 18 sacks in its last two games. Dart shattered records against the Hogs, supplanting legends Archie and Eli Manning and Matt Corral. He also became the winningest quarterback in Ole Miss history with his 25th win Saturday.
This is nothing new, really. Ole Miss has always been monolith of impressive statistics under Kiffin, but wins and losses define success. The darlings of the preseason, public opinion of the Rebels soured in October.
“You just can’t run from it,” said linebacker TJ Dottery, who recovered a fumble Saturday for the Rebels’ first defensive touchdown of the season. “You hear it on social media, but we just try to stay in our zone with our guys and continue to play our brand of football.”
The question now is whether Ole Miss can translate a successful bounce-back performance against Arkansas into a season-defining win against Georgia. If not, a playoff spot may be off the table.
“We got plenty of time to figure that out. It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday,” Kiffin said. “I hope our players enjoy this. I hope our fans enjoyed us, for a place and a team (Arkansas) that’s given us a lot of problems. I hope they’re happy for a few days. Have some joy, fans.”
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